Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers had one of their quieter offseasons in recent memory, electing to shed veteran salaries and not make any major moves in free agency as they instead focused on the 2025 NFL Draft, where they selected 11 players.
With the mentality of getting younger, many believe that the 49ers are positioning themselves for the 2026 season and beyond, while trying to remain competitive with their veterans in 2025.
As Week 1 approaches, it’s become quite apparent that San Francisco will be relying on a number of rookies early on, as they have a top-heavy team with stars like Nick Bosa, Trent Williams, Fred Warner, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, and Brock Purdy.
That’s why head coach Kyle Shanahan felt it was necessary to bring the team’s longtime veterans together for an exclusive meeting at his house earlier this offseason, stressing the importance of helping develop the younger players.
:I wanted to get the guys together to really explain that this team is [going to be] a little bit different,” Shanahan said, via ESPN. “Everybody at my house were the only guys who really have been through this history and we have a whole new group of people coming in that are mainly rookies and also some people from other organizations, but they have no idea what we’ve been through for these last five years together. We’ve got to get over that. It’s completely new and you guys need to understand that this team’s not just going to fall in line and be like you were.
“We have to develop these guys.”
Members of the group who attended the meeting included Warner, Kittle, and Kyle Juszczyk, as well as other established members of the team, according to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner.
With all of the younger players, there will be evident growing pains for the 49ers, perhaps as early as Week 1, when they take on their divisional rival Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on Sunday.
But, the expectation is still to win games, which is why it’s now on the team’s top players to produce as such and remain available.
“Of course everybody wants to win now,” Williams said, via ESPN. “Nobody wants to wait but you still got to be conscious of they’re rookies. … There is always a learning curve. … Obviously, you’ve got to help teach them the ropes, but you can’t get down on ’em. You need to encourage ’em. This is a very tough transition and not a lot of people can do it and still be productive their first year.”
According to the report, one of the biggest cases of change has been Nick Bosa, who elected to hang around the team for the entire offseason program, rather than go through his regular routine in Florida where he resides during the offseason.
Not only was Bosa a resource on the field, where teammates could pick his brain and watch his work ethic firsthand, but he was also key off the field, where he’d...
